I want to make sure I have a decent grasp on the situation at the moment. Is this correct?

1. The militia is fighting the elemental near the center of town.

2. The three people we are guarding are still in the windmill.

3. One assassin was taken down by Gorrid, and there is a second assassin still in the trees somewhere.

4. Spriggy, Gorrid, Idi, and Leo are currently just outside the windmill.

5. Russel and Buckthorn are nearby too, but going after the remaining assassin.

6. Kharla and Irene's locations are unspecified, but probably nearby.

I believe there's one poison wielding attacker (now filled with 2 arrows) very near the mill that signaled to at least one other assassin to come out of the treeline toward the mill.

Buck went off in search of, and briefly tangled with that second attacker in the ditches between the treeline cover and the mill.

I believe the second attacker (the one Buck is tackling) is a mage of some sort - possibly the one responsible for the elemental.

Probably makes sense to presume that Kharla is holed up with our trio inside the mill as a defender of last resort.

Dunno where Irene is floating around...

1.Spriggy, you're in a better position than anyone else to the that the militia is indeed still fighting the elemental. They don't seem to do much to it, but they don't seem too badly hurt either. They just keep getting pushed around by the elemental's water blasts.

2.Your wards are still hiding in the mill, with Kharla watching over them.

3.You know of three foes. One was defeated by Gorrid (the sniper). The second one paralyzed Idi, and was shot twice by Russel (the shadow). The last one is hiding in the bushes north-east of the mill (the mage).

4.Idi, Leo, and Russel are close to the mill, in the northern part of town. Russel is right next to the door and the other two are Near it.

5.Spriggy is in the eastern part of town, with Irene staying near him in case someone else tries to snipe him. Gorrid is Near him, in the forest, where the sniper was.

6.Buckthorn in to the north-east, near where the mage is, but deeper in the forest (though if you want to go elsewhere Buckthorn, you can do it as part of the Dash move you used).

Thank you for the clarifications. Much appreciated.

I would like to officially thank the "Dice Roller" (in the hopes that it will not turn against me.)

Would I need to roll (and what type of move/roll?) to blindside the wizard with a cross-check of my spear shaft and knock them to the ground?

I'm glad Gorrid shouted to keep him alive.

Sounds like a Hack & Slash to me...

In reply to Buckthorn (msg # 901):

Could be Hack and Slash, yeah--although that deals damage. Could also be Defy Danger if the GM wants to play it that way (you're charging a skilled wizard, closing on him without getting iced or whatever is dangerous). If there's two of you doing it, one could be Aiding the other. Or the GM could have something else in mind, especially if the wizard is prepared...

My understanding is that you're doing damage, whether your intention is 'killing' vs. "incapacitating/rendering unconscious".  The HP need to be whittled down in either case.  You just express your intended outcome.  (Though depending on how you go about it, the GM might decide you're unsuccessful.  E.g. Knocking someone out with an arrow is hard, and knocking out a 3 HP orc with 15 HP of damage may result in a crushed skull.  :>)

I'm fairly certain he's distracted by Gorrid hitting him with a solid sword strike, and I'm not intending to do lasting damage. I'll just write the post and the DM can call for what (if any) roll fits.

0 hp is just dead in DW, for PCs (well, they get to make Last Breath) and for NPCs. That's one of the things I noticed a while ago that's different than D&D (where I think you can choose your damage to be non-lethal? and 0 hp is "dying/unconscious") and some other PbtA games (where eliminating a threat/monster just kind of "takes them out", however you want to describe that). But it's all pretty flexible, however the GM decides to do it! Hack & Slash vs. Defy Danger come out pretty similar if you aren't actually concerned about doing damage to kill it, so a pretty minor point of difference anyway.

That reminds me of a high-strength wizard I made for Dungeon World one time. Built like a professional wrestler. He wasn't any better at weapon damage than a regular wizard, but he could still toss opponents around or wrestle them into submission. It was a very fun character to play, and one that would only really work with Dungeon World's type of rule set.

Or me haha

I get that the fail affects you as the roller, but something about being on the receiving end of botched Eldritch Tones just puts a fear into me as a player.

Not to worry. I'll probably just amplify the ice storm into a full blown ice hurricane or something. No biggie. ;-)

Good thing we are not in a town with large arcane stones ...

Does the water elemental count as a "person"? Specifically wondering for the context of the Hold Person spell ("Choose a person you can see. Until you cast a spell or leave their presence they cannot act except to speak. This effect ends immediately if the target takes damage from any source.")

Ok after more reading some spells are "any creature", which is clearly broader than "any person". I could see the elemental not be a "person", the creature bit emphasizes that I think, but I'll leave final say to the GM.

Traditionally, I think that would apply to humanoids specifically.

That would be my idea as well. A magical creature like an elemental would definitely fall outside of the Person category.

Thanks for the buff, Idi!

In reply to Spriggy Glompgut (msg # 915):

At least it worked! 7 total WITH a +3. Hitting that 10+ would have been even sweeter, I could give you a +2, but I'll take a not-fail right now!

So, +1 xp when we screw up at a crucial moment? First truly bad roll I've had.

Yup, whenever you roll 2d6 and the final result is 6- then you gain an XP. But don't worry, it is actually a lot of fun to fail in Dungeon World. (Potentially dangerous, but fun.) That is usually when the best stuff happens. I love when people fail their rolls, both as a player and as a GM.

It does feel better in DW, exciting!